Saturday, November 21, 2015

Final agreement on Bulgaria-Greece gas interconnector to be inked on December 10: minister | FOCUS News Agency

Final agreement on Bulgaria-Greece gas interconnector to be inked on December 10: minister

21 November 2015 | 12:33 | FOCUS News Agency
Sofia. “The final investment agreement on the construction of a gas interconnector with Greece will be inked on December 10,” Bulgarian Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova said speaking for Darik Radio.
The plans are for it to carry 3-5 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year. The construction of the interconnector is scheduled to start in early 2016.
“This interconnector is highly important because it is major part of the Southern gas corridor. It is important not only for Bulgaria and Greece but for the entire Southeast European region,” the Bulgarian minister remarked.

Minister Petkova commented further on the 2015 Atlantic Council Energy and Economic Summit held in Istanbul, Turkey, which she attended.

“The major issue tabled for discussion was the energy security. The accent was put on the security of the deliveries, the diversification of the sources and the routes for natural gas deliveries, as well as the role and the importance of the European Energy Union,” Ms Petkova added. 

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Source: http://www.focus-fen.net/news/2015/11/21/390169/final-agreement-on-bulgaria-greece-gas-interconnector-to-be-inked-on-december-10-minister.html

Pipeline to Turkey is on the table | IN CYPRUS / CYPRUS WEEKLY

Simos Simou — 21/11/2015

By George Telaveris

Israel, Cyprus and Egypt are in discussions about the possibility of exporting natural gas to Turkey, according to the Israeli energy minister, Yuval Steinitz.

“I’m not allowed to say much about this but we are examining the option,” he told Globes newspaper, referring to discussions among Israel, Cyprus and Egypt on the joint development of gas fields in their countries.

“The first option is the joint development of reservoirs and through the existing liquefied gas installations in Egypt and a second option is building a gas pipeline to Turkey, and from there the gas can continue to Europe.” Sending gas to liquefied natural gas (LNG) gas plants is in line with statements by the Cyprus energy minister, George Lakkotrypis, who says that talks about exporting natural gas to Egypt are advancing.

Friday, November 20, 2015

Methane Hydrates: A Business opportunity for NOCs in the Middle East and large IOCs? | Oilfield Magazine

Methane Hydrates: A Business opportunity for NOCs in the Middle East and large IOCs?
Methane Hydrates: A Business opportunity for NOCs in the Middle East and large IOCs?
November 20, 2015
Methane Hydrates: A Business opportunity for NOCs in the Middle East and large IOCs?
By Athanasios Pitatzis
In today’s article we will cover the possibility that Methane Hydrates can become a business opportunity for the National Oil Companies (NOCs) in the Middle East or the large integrated oil companies like Exxon Mobil.

METHANE HYDRATES
Specific structure of a gas hydrate piece,
from the subduction zone off Oregon
According to the World Ocean Review and their report “Marine Resources – Opportunities and Risks” the existence of methane hydrates has been known since the 1930s but only in the last 10 years has it become a subject of serious consideration as a possible source of energy from fossil fuels for the future. It is now possible to calculate the total amounts available with some confidence. 
Also this report mentions that Methane hydrate is formed when water and methane gas are combined at temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius and pressures greater than 30 bar, or 30 times normal atmospheric pressure.  Methane is surrounded by water molecules and trapped in a molecular cage. Chemists therefore call this kind of molecular structure a clathrate (lat. clatratus = with bars, caged)
The methods to extract them are three:

  • Flooding with water requires immense amounts of energy, which makes it uneconomical.
  • With depressurization and
  • The injection method with CO2

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Methods of extraction of Methane Hydrates, Source of the photo: Resources, M. (2014)
World ocean review.http://worldoceanreview.com/

JAPAN: FIRST COUNTRY THAT PRODUCED NATURAL GAS FROM METHANE HYDRATES
Japan’s national company of Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) in cooperation with a consortium of companies conducted the first flow test from the offshore methane hydrates reserves off the coasts of the Atsumi and Shima peninsulas. This test took place from the 12th until the 18th of March 2013.

HYDRATE GLOBAL RESERVES
According to the experts of this sector Methane Hydrates Reserves have been estimated to be about 21,000 trillion cubic meters, about 100 times the total natural gas reserves currently worldwide. They content that even if 10% of these quantities is technically recoverable it can be used for many centuries. We must take into consideration also that these quantities must be also commercial so we can exploit them and this depends on the prices and the demand for natural gas globally.
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Methane Hydrates Reserves, Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2292555/Japanese-breakthrough-country-extract-fuel-ice-rese­­­­rves-locked-beneath-coast.html#ixzz2NSgeQfQe (13 March 2013)
Rating for the reserves cannot be done safely because this is a new form of energy.  However, experts claim that our planet contains large quantities of methane hydrates.

BAKER HUGHES PARTICIPATION IN EXTRACTION OF METHANE HYDRATES IN JAPAN
A 19 April 2013 Baker Hughes post notes “Baker Hughes provided the completion system for the test well, which was drilled in approximately 1000 m of water into a hydrate formation approximately 300 m below the mud line.” This indicates that the company acquired the know – how for this procedure, so a strategic cooperation with this company may offer access to this unique data.

SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE EXTRACTION OF METHANE HYDRATES
Strengths

  • Can be found at very low depths (location)
  • Enormous Reserves (observe above Methane Hydrates reserves)
  • Quality of gas trapped in clatherates
  • Geographical diversification of the reserves, observe the map above
  • Potential future energy source

Weaknesses 

  • Extract the methane hydrates and economically transport it, it is a technological challenge
  • Difficult discoveries of significant / commercial reserves
  • No commercial extraction process for methane hydrates until now

Opportunities

  • Available commercial extraction technology for methane hydrates in the near future, due to the latest discoveries in Japan
  • Diversification of company portfolios which will focus business activities in this unconventional energy source

Threats

  • Future environmental hazard, due to the large amount of natural gas from hydrates can be released in the atmosphere


PROPOSED STRATEGIES FOR NOCs OF THE MIDDLE EAST

  • Buy or merge with Baker Hughes (Halliburton now), because they probably possess the extraction technology of methane hydrates. (observe above statement about Baker Hughes)
  • Invest a lot of money to expand the knowledge and technological capabilities for methane hydrates exploration and refinery process.
  • Become the first operator in methane hydrate industry
  • Strategic alliance with JOGMEC, propose to the Japanese government new investments in the Japanese exclusive economic zone for exploration of methane hydrates with major objective the energy security of Japan.
  • Due to the global estimated methane hydrate reserves if one of the NOCs like Saudi Aramco enters the industry first may become the biggest oil and gas operator globally.


COST OF EXTRACTION OF METHANE HYDRATES
According to Oil and Gas financial journal in the article “Challenges of the Methane Hydrates” by Darren Spalding and Laura Fox, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, London on May 7, 2014 the cost of developing any new energy is high and methane hydrates are no different. The current cost of gas produced from methane hydrates is estimated to be US$30 to US$50 per million British thermal units (MMBTUs). The International Energy Agency estimates that once efficient practices and processes are developed, natural gas produced from methane hydrates will cost between US$4.70 and US$8.60 per MMBTU.
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Source: Waterborne Energy, Inc. | https://www.ferc.gov/market-oversight/mkt-gas/overview/ngas-ovr-lng-wld-pr-est.pdf
It is obvious from the above data that the extraction of Methane Hydrates is a risky and expensive process and with the recent prices of LNG is unprofitable to extract them.  However, a solution to this problem maybe the use of CNG technology. If CNG marine technology is used then it is cheaper to transfer natural gas up to 2500 km from the producing well.
GAS HYDRATES RESOURCE POTENTIAL BY GLOBAL REGIONS
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Gas hydrates resource potential by global regions. This figure includes only that subset of global in-place gas hydrates that appear to occur at high concentrations in sand-rich reservoirs, the most likely candidates for development. Source: Johnson 2011Source: Beaudoin, Y. C., Dallimore, S. R., and Boswell, R. (eds), 2014. Frozen Heat: A UNEP Global Outlook on Methane Gas Hydrates. Volume 2. United Nations,Environment Programme, GRID-Arendal..© United Nations Environment Programme, 2014, ISBN: 978-92-807-3319-8
The above graph suggests that the potential business strategy of the NOCs but also and IOCs of Middle East for the future exploration of Methane Hydrates will be to focus on this specific regions:

  • Eastern Africa
  • Southern Africa
  • Western and Central Africa
  • Southern Ocean and maybe
  • Latin America and the Caribbean


THE GEOPOLITICAL FOOTPRINT OF METHANE HYDRATES
If over the next 10 years and by 2020 the hydrates methane extraction technology becomes commercially exploitable and extraction costs viable, geopolitical changes will be tectonic, including:

  • Total independence of Japan from imports of natural gas, partly perhaps the independence of China as well.
  • Gradual crowding from countries which produce conventional forms of hydrocarbons such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but not Russia, which has several possible areas with existing deposits of methane hydrates.
  • Future supply of the European Union’s natural gas production from methane hydrates from the Black Sea and the Southeast Mediterranean.
  • Increase of the geopolitical importance of the following areas due to the presence of methane hydrates: Southeastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, the Black Sea, Caspian Sea, North Sea, Latin America, North America and of course the seas around India which appear to contain large amounts of methane hydrates.

Finally we would like to mention that the journey is now starting to look exciting so fasten your seat belts, the story of methane hydrates has now started and can change life on our planet as we know it today.

CONCLUSION
The managers of the NOCs of the Middle East may want to evaluate the following facts:

  • Until 2030 or 2040 it is estimated that the oil reserves of the Middle East will decrease
  • The main future consumers of oil and gas industry is South East Asia countries like China and Japan
  • This century is the gold century of natural gas
  • NOCs of the Middle East possess the cash flow to diversify their business portfolio, taking advantage of that and invest to unconventional energy sources, like Methane Hydrates.

The same business strategy applies also for the large integrated oil companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron. Also this strategy will be a beneficial fit for major European oil and gas companies like BP, Total and Eni because they operate already in many areas which exist large quantities of Methane Hydrate potential reserves like south east Mediterranean, Eastern and  Western Africa. In a period of low oil and gas price which company will take a step ahead to become the future leader of our industry?
“Michel Collon a Belgian writer, journalist, and historian claims that if you want to control the world, you must control the oil, all the oil everywhere in this planet.”

My estimation for the period after 2020 is that the geopolitical trend-message which could dominate the thought process of the policy makers worldwide will be:
“If you want to control the world, you must control the methane hydrate deposits, all the methane hydrates deposits everywhere in this planet.”
Finally a reminder of my general message through this article:
"The best way to predict the future is to create it." - Abraham Lincoln
--
Athanasios Pitatzis is Member of the Greek Energy Forum. The opinions expressed in the article are personal and do not reflect the views of the entire forum or the company that employs the author. Follow Greek Energy Forum on Twitter at @GrEnergyForum and Athanasios at @thanospitatzis
Athanasios Pitatzis is also owner of the website Energy Routes in which he publish all of his articles for global oil and gas industry, http://energyroutes.eu/

Source: http://oilfieldmagazine.com/methane-hydrates-a-business-opportunity-for-nocs-in-the-middle-east-and-large-iocs/

TAP Awards Contract To Corinth Pipeworks For Onshore PipeLine In Greece | Natural Gas Europe




November 20th, 2015

TAP AWARDS CONTRACT TO CORINTH PIPEWORKS FOR ONSHORE LINE PIPE IN GREECE

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline consortium has awarded a contract to Corinth Pipeworks to provide approximately 495km of 48” diameter line pipes for the pipeline, which will run across Greece.
The Viotia-headquartered company will be the major supplier of line pipe required for TAP in Greece.
“We are pleased to be working with Corinth Pipeworks S.A. for this important contract," Ian Bradshaw, Managing Director at TAP, commented in a statement released on Friday. "I would like to congratulate Corinth Pipeworks S.A. and its partner Marubeni Itochu Steel inc. for submitting a robust bid, to the highest industry standards.”  
The contract announced on Friday is the fourth major contract awarded this year by TAP.
The 878 km long pipeline will connect with the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border at Kipoi, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy
TAP is part of the so-called Southern Gas Corridor, which will transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan to Europe. 


 Natural Gas Europe welcomes all viewpoints. Should you wish to provide an alternative perspective on the above article, please contact editor@minoils.com  
Kindly note that we only lightly edit content for grammar and do not edit externally contributed content.

Noble Energy - Leviathan's Future Looking Better, But A Major Obstacle Remains | Seeking Alpha

Summary

Some of the major obstacles related to Noble Energy’s Leviathan plans have been removed.
Noble Energy and the Israeli government are keen to quickly begin work in the Mediterranean Sea.
The company now has better visibility over Leviathan than ever before. .
However, if the sub-$50 a barrel oil price environment persists, then Noble Energy could delay the final investment decision on Leviathan.
Noble Energy (NYSE:NBL) is moving, albeit slowly, towards tapping into the massive Leviathan gas field, located in offshore Israel.
Leviathan, which holds up to 22 trillion cubic feet of reserves and was discovered nearly five years ago, has been one of the biggest gas discoveries in the region and the largest one for Noble Energy ever. Ideally, by now, Noble Energy would have been pumping gas from this field for a year if the company had taken a final investment decision in early 2011. But Noble Energy and Delek Group (OTCPK:DGRLY), the field's developers, have faced stiff opposition from Israeli regulators and lawmakers due to anti-trust concerns. A lack of regulatory framework regarding offshore energy projects further exacerbated Noble Energy's woes.
(click to enlarge)
Noble Energy in Eastern Mediterranean.
Image © Noble Energy
However, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel seems to be heading in the right direction. The resignations of Israel's economy minister Aryeh Deri and the antitrust commissioner David Gilo, the main opponents of the government and Noble Energy's Leviathan plans, and the approval of the regulatory framework by the Israeli Cabinet and the Knesset (the parliament) have paved the way for development of Leviathan as well as the country's other offshore hydrocarbon reserves.
The government is now keen to fast-track the process which will ultimately lead towards Leviathan's development and expansion of the closely located Tamar field. Noble Energy has been pumping gas from Tamar, a relatively smaller field which holds up to 10 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves, since 2013.
Noble Energy also seems eager to quickly begin work in offshore Israel. During its recent third quarter conference call, Noble Energy identified that the demand of natural gas around the Mediterranean exceeds supply by four billion cubic feet; and this gap could widen to nine billion cubic feet by 2025. The company has recently sold 47% interest in two gas fields in offshore Israel for $67 million to Delek in order to address the anti-trust concerns. The sale will also improve Noble Energy' cash reserves, bolstering the company's balance sheet preservation efforts amid the ongoing downturn.
Noble Energy has also said that it will likely make a final investment decision on Leviathan and Tamar within the next twelve months. Assuming the company decides to move forward with Leviathan by the middle of 2016, then it can report first production from the field by mid-2019 at the earliest.
So it is going to take some time before the company reports an increase in production and cash flows related to Leviathan. But nonetheless, the future prospects of Leviathan are looking clearer than ever. Unless there is a major shift in the political setup in Israel, I believe that there is a real possibility that Noble Energy will start producing gas from Leviathan within the current decade, though the weak oil price environment could become another obstacle.
For now, Noble Energy's offshore drilling activity work will largely occur at the Gulf of Mexico where its two projects, Big Bend and Dantzler, have recently reported first oil production. Focus has now shifted to Gunflint field, located west of Dantzler, which is slated to come online by the middle of next year. Total production from the Big Bend and Dantzler projects is quickly reaching peak capacity 20,000 barrels per day. The three offshore fields will play a crucial role in driving volume and cash flow growth in 2016.
Due in part to Gulf of Mexico projects, Noble Energy expects to report higher production next year on a pro-forma basis. Though judging from what we've heard during the recent conference call, Noble Energy's priority is to live within its cash flows in 2016, rather than achieve production growth. I believe this is the right approach, since the market is more likely to reward free cash flows than production growth in the downturn. This also means that if the sub-$50 a barrel oil price environment persists, then Noble Energy could delay the final investment decision on Leviathan. Instead, the company could focus only on ramping up the tried and tested Tamar field.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

EU Includes Greek Energy Projects on List of ‘Common Interest’ | Greek Reporter

EU Includes Greek Energy Projects on List of ‘Common Interest’

depa_390_2301The European Commission announced on Wednesday a list of key energy infrastructure projects (Projects of Common Interest, PCI) in Greece and around the EU whose completion is considered important for the development of the bloc’s energy market and the diversification of its energy sources and transport routes.
Among them are the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP); the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB); the Poseidon pipeline (Interconnection Turkey Greece Italy “ITGI”); the East Med pipeline; an LNG station to be developed by Greece’s DEPA Company and GasTrade in Alexandroupolis city; a new compressor station for the nationwide transmission system of the DESFA Company; and the Tesla Pipeline.
(source: ana-mpa)
Source: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/11/19/eu-includes-greek-energy-projects-on-list-of-common-interest/

DEFA resumes work on interim gas solution after new board appointed | Cyprus Mail

DEFA resumes work on interim gas solution after new board appointed

NOVEMBER 19TH, 2015

By Angelos Anastasiou

The Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA), tasked with reaching agreement with a supplier for the so-called ‘interim solution’ to replace oil as the state power company’s (EAC) electricity-generation fuel with imported gas at lower cost, resumed work after its new board was appointed on Wednesday.

The interim solution scenario has been in the works for three years, but successive extensions to the tender review process have pushed the deadline back to December
2015, very close to the date designated as the start of the project – January 1, 2016.

On Tuesday, the government announced the appointment of DEFA’s new board, which features three new members – Marianna Charalambous, Giorgos Tripatsas, and Stefanos Stefos – in replacement of Nicos Makrides, Anastasis Kounoudis, and Adam Lomas.

The new board, deputy government spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos announced, will serve a five-year term.

DEFA, the EAC, and energy regulator CERA, have been invited by President Nicos Anastasiades to the Presidential Palace on Monday, in order to discuss the way forward and push for decisions on the interim solution.

The aim of lowering the cost of power generation has been at the forefront of Anastasiades’ policies, with the President often citing the price of electricity in Cyprus as an unacceptable reality that must be addressed.

Tenders were initially invited by the government in January 2014, with a view to finalising an agreement by that year’s summer.

However, the summer deadline passed and no deal was clinched, because the cost reductions did not justify the investment.

Three more extensions ensued, with a view to attaining better terms, but efforts have not yet proven fruitful.

Daily Phileleftheros reported that the preferred bidder thus far – Dutch energy giant Vitol – is still working on how to further reduce costs, and a further extension has been granted, until December 2015.

Meanwhile, the EAC appears to have reservations on whether, given falling oil prices globally, the pursued interim solution would truly reduce the price of electricity in Cyprus.

“The issue is being handled exclusively by DEFA,” EAC spokeswoman Christina Papadopoulou-Theofanidou told the Cyprus Mail.

“The EAC has a purely supportive role in evaluating the proposal selected by DEFA. A little more patience is required, before more can be said.”

It is hoped that Monday’s meeting at the Presidential Palace will help clarify many points and coordinate the next steps among various stakeholders.

Source: http://cyprus-mail.com/2015/11/19/defa-resumes-woard-appointed/